resources on inclusive Playgrounds

We Believe™ that various forms of play, recreation, and physical activity are essential throughout life as they provide a healthy life balance and greatly enrich people of all ages and abilities. We Believe™ in the importance of safer, compliant, universally accessible spaces for children and families to gather and play - in schools, back yards, and in neighborhood communities. We Believe™ play is critical to children's development and to improving the fitness of future generations.

Universal playground design is based on the premise that all people have the right to play, regardless of age or ability. Inclusive playgrounds move beyond physical accessibility by creating usable play environments that recognize the right of all people to equal opportunities for play, full participation in play, and the independence of the child. Play is a social event, and We Believe™ the opportunity to be included is the right of every child and every person. The following tools and resources will help you learn how to effectively advocate for the strengths and abilities of the special populations in your community. 

PlayCore Resource Series: Inclusive Playgrounds


Inclusive playgrounds move beyond physical accessibility by creating usable play environments that create equal opportunities for play, allow individuals of all abilities to fully participate, and incorporate design features that foster independence. These resources include information on the value and characteristics of a universally designed outdoor play environment that supports the development of children of all abilities socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively. Click here to download the Inclusive Playgrounds Resource Sheet. 

The Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University

The Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) is Utah’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities in Education, Research, and Services and has been a leader in the disability field for over 35 years. Their mission is to “collaborate with partners to strengthen families and individuals across the lifespan through education, policy, research and services.” The Center represents more than 14 disciplines, and the specialized staff conduct both basic and applied research, and operate over 70 programs throughout Utah and across the nation as part of a national network focused on improving life for people with disabilities and their families. The CPD is a proud partner in promoting inclusive playgrounds that thoughtfully consider the needs of the child and how they achieve independence and equality. 

PlayCore and the CPD have partnered to create a variety of resources about universally designed playgrounds including 7 unique principles of inclusive play that focus on the actual experiences and feelings of a child during play and on the collective playground environmental design. For further information about the CPD visit www.cpd.usu.edu. 


Play and Park Structures: Providing Social and Physical Inclusion for People of All Abilities on the Playground

Play & Park Structures proudly offers selected playground models featuring barrier-free design that meet the Boundless Playgrounds® benchmarks of play. Many of the Play & Park Structures’ staff and field associates have completed formal Boundless training. With Play & Park Structures officially designated as a Playground Industry Partner of Boundless Playgrounds, they can help you create a Boundless playground where children with and without disabilities can develop essential skills for life as they learn together through play. For more information visit the Play & Park website at http://www.playandpark.com/accessibility.iml.
 

He Needs to be Able to Reach those Bars
Every possible step was taken to make sure that Strongreach was not only accessible and enjoyable to all children and parents, volunteers also made sure it was conducive to a child’s physical development. Wayne Walters from Play and Park Structures acted as supervisor over the construction of Strongreach Playground, located behind Papa’s Pizza on Sue Avenue and Highway 166, directing a bevy of community workers, a Bowdon city work detail and a backhoe. Available online at www.times-georgian.com/articles/2007/07/02/local_news/doc4689d50f85ace944233244.prt. 
For more information about Strong Reach Playground, visit www.strongreach.com. 


GameTime: EveryBODY Plays!™  


The EveryBODY Plays Program Guide was developed to serve as an educational resource for communities that are planning, revitalizing, and/or building playgrounds. This guide, provided by GameTime, is intended to provide meaningful educational materials that help people understand the value of and necessity for inclusive, universally designed outdoor play environments for people of all abilities, families, and communities. Universally designed playgrounds are good for all people and they help promote inclusive, intergenerational play. Our program principles are designed for children, as they are our primary user group, but they are also developed to bring benefit to people of all ages and abilities. For more information, visit www.gametime.com/universalplay/index.html.

Accessibility and Your Playground: A Profile of Facilities Taking Action
By Anne-Marie Spencer, GameTime
When designing a playground, incorporating accessibility into the design should begin early in the process, with consideration given to layout, circulation and component selection. This article offers a variety of factors to keep in mind when designing accessible playgrounds. Profiles of three communities that recognized the importance of integrated play, and the steps they took to make it happen on their playgrounds are also shared. Available online at findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1145/is_4_38/ai_100960610/print.

Inclusive Play for ALL Children: The Opportunities are Boundless!
GameTime’s Can-Do Playground is a welcoming place where children of all abilities can be in the middle of the fun. The Can-Do Playground endeavor brought together both the private and public sectors of this community that included a non-profit organization founded by the six Wilmington-area Rotary Clubs and enthusiastically led by Thomas A. Talley, a champion of this project, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and the Delaware Department of Transportation. Together, these public and private entities secured and prepared the land for construction, while raising $489,500 to complete this project. To learn more about the Can-Do playground, go to: www.candoplayground.org. 


Boundless Playgrounds®

Boundless Playgrounds® is the first national nonprofit dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary playgrounds where children, with and without disabilities, can develop essential skills for life as they learn together through play. There are more than 100 Boundless™ playgrounds in over 20 states and Canada, and dozens more are currently in development. Boundless Playgrounds, based in Connecticut, was founded in 1997 by a passionate team of parents and professionals. For more information, visit www.boundlessplaygrounds.org.

Both GameTime and Play & Park Structures are proud to be part of a select group of Boundless Playgrounds Industry Partners working together to provide places where children of all abilities can learn and play together. For more information visit www.boundlessplaygrounds.org. 


Shane’s Inspiration
The mission of Shane's Inspiration is to create Universally Accessible Playgrounds and programs that integrate children of all abilities socially, physically and emotionally, fostering acceptance, friendship and understanding. To learn more visit www.shanesinspiration.org.


National Center on Accessibility
The National Center on Accessibility (NCA) promotes access and inclusion for people with disabilities in parks, recreation and tourism.  Based at Indiana University and established in 1992 through a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service, NCA has emerged as a leading authority on access issues unique to park and recreation programs and facilities. For more information visit www.ncaonline.org. 

National Center on Accessibility: Access to Play Areas
This publication is designed to assist park and recreation professionals, designers and consumers in creating inclusive play environments for children with and without disabilities. Because a child or an adult has a disability, does not mean their need for recreation is lessened. While play promotes self-awareness, inclusion promotes community-awareness by involving both people with and without disabilities. Available online at www.indiana.edu/~nca/playgrounds/play-areas.shtml#skipnav.


Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board)
ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas
The Access Board is issuing final accessibility guidelines to serve as the basis for standards to be adopted by the Department of Justice for new construction and alterations of play areas covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidelines include scoping and technical provisions for ground level and elevated play components, accessible routes, ramps and transfer systems, ground surfaces, and soft contained play structures. The guidelines will ensure that newly constructed and altered play areas meet the requirements of the ADA and are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. Available online at www.access-board.gov/play/finalrule.htm.

A Guide to the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Play Areas
This guide is designed to assist in using the play area accessibility guidelines. Copies of the play area accessibility guidelines and further technical assistance can be obtained from the U.S. Access Board, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-1111; 800-872-2253, 800-993-2822 (TTY), or online at pubs@access-board.gov. For more information visit www.access-board.gov/play/guide/intro.htm.

Play Area Guidelines: Background
This rule amends ADAAG to specifically address play areas, including play structures and equipment. The rule addresses requirements for the number of play components required to be accessible, accessible surfacing in play areas, ramp access and transfer system access to elevated structures, and access to soft contained play structures. Available online at www.access-board.gov/play/status.htm.

Training Course on Accessible Play Areas
The Access Board, in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), has developed a new training course on its ADA and ABA accessibility guidelines for play areas. Available online at www.access-board.gov/play/nrpa-training.htm.


National Center on Physical Activity and Disability
Playgrounds for ALL Kids!
Why should we make ALL playgrounds accessible to kids with disabilities? It's the right thing to do! ... And, by the way, it's the law! Accessible design doesn't just happen by accident. It must be considered from the very beginning of the process of planning a playground. This article was edited for the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, a collaborative project of the National Center on Accessibility, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Available online at www.indiana.edu/~nca/ncpad/play4all.shtml.


Utah State University, Center for Persons with Disabilities
Beyond Access
The Beyond Access website contains information to guide parents, advocates, communities, play environment designers and equipment manufacturers in their efforts to create inclusive play environments for all children. Visit www.beyondaccess.org/.


Natural Learning Initiative
What makes a park inclusive and universally designed? A multi-method approach
In Open Space People Space, by Moore, R. & Cosco, N.
Social inclusion has been the subject of recent initiatives in the United Kingdom and Canada, driven by continuing issues of social exclusion of minority ethnic groups, low-income families, people with disabilities, children, youth and elders from mainstream contemporary society. To learn more visit www.naturalearning.org/docs/InclusiveUDPark.pdf.

The Natural Learning Initiative is a Research and Design Assistance Program of the
College of Design at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. A variety of resources and full text articles can be accessed from the resource section of the website at www.naturalearning.org/resources/resources.htm.

“Inclusion, as a value, supports the right of all children, regardless of their abilities, to participate actively in natural settings within their communities.” - Division for Early Childhood position statement, endorsed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)